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Making Oboe Reeds

We're passionate about helping you pursue your perfect reed, but we admit it…reed making tools are just one part of the story!

Making Oboe reeds, or making English Horn reeds for that matter, is an educational journey. To become a master reed maker you’ll want to seek the guidance of masters. Your own teacher is the very best place to start of course, but like all great crafts, it pays to learn from different perspectives. Luckily, there are many fine reed making books and videos available to help you. These titles are at the very top of our recommended reading list.

The Reed Maker's Manual by David Weber and Fred Capps

Step-by-step instructions for making Oboe and English Horn reeds. Weber and Capps expose the secrets of the greatest reed makers, based upon their training in the Philadelphia style of oboe playing and reed making and from lifelong professional performing careers. Sold through Weber Reeds and double reed resellers.

"This excellent book and its accompanying video set the standard for how-to learning materials. I bought my copy in 1990, shortly after its publication. Although I had been making reeds for years, I found there was still much to be learned from it, particularly in the adjusting arena. I highly recommend it."*

Making Oboe Reeds, a Basic Guide to Reed Making by Joseph Shalita

Improve your oboe reed making skills quickly, and begin making more consistent oboe reeds. Here you will find plenty of information for advanced and beginner oboe students. Sold online at makingoboereeds.com.

"This is a solid, well written approach to reed making. Shalita notes that it is a personal approach, but he identifies his biases, and it differs only a little bit from the approach used by most oboists I have met. An excellent investment."*

Oboe Reed Making DVD by Linda Walsh

A comprehensive guide to European style reed making for beginners and advanced performers, produced in 2008 by Linda Walsh, an experienced professional oboist and teacher using top quality digital video. Sold through oboereedmaking.com.

"Much more than a step by step guide, this excellent DVD covers a lot of diverse topics surrounding reed making as well as the diversity of reed styles from many places. She takes the time to instruct on English, French, German, and Spanish styles, so it's a must for European reed makers, and highly recommended for American students who want to broaden their horizons."*

The Oboe Reed Book by Jay Light

A straight-talking guide to making and understanding Oboe reeds. Sold through double reed resellers.

"Jay Light takes a somewhat light-hearted approach to a serious subject, addressing topics such as attitude, preparation and approach to the job as well as the step by step processes of reed making. Well worth adding to your collection."*

Oboe Reed Styles, Theory and Practice by David Ledet

"An excellent overview of oboe reed making worldwide with many examples from major players, arranged by country. Pictured both in profile and reflected light at exactly 2X scale, they allow you to put a scale on them for dimensions. They demonstrate how differently the 'same' reed style can be expressed. A 'must have' for the serious reed maker."*

Send us your favorites.

Do you have a favorite oboe reed making video or book? We'd love hear about it.